The Gauntlet
by xpastellie
Summary: Piper yelled from the other side, banging at the door. Lights kicked on. A crowd roared loudly. Here I was. The end of the Gauntlet. Where no one had ever gotten out alive.


This is an OC Fallout 4 story I wrote out of boredom a while ago. It's based on events that actually happened in game. Which I think was very romantic to happen when it did. I hope you enjoy!

"Blue! Blue! Ellie!!" Piper yelled from the other side, banging at the door. Lights kicked on. A crowd roared loudly. Here I was. The end of the Gauntlet. Where no one had ever gotten out alive.

I'd heard about this place, "Nuka-World", from a radio station. We were just exploring. I was curious. And.. like always, my curiosity gets me into seriously dangerous situations. Piper had wanted to come with me. She said she loves Nuka-Cola, so why wouldn't she love Nuka-World? Ha. If only we knew. I would have never let her come anywhere near this place. When we arrived at the Nuka-Transit Center it looked normal enough. There were no signs of Ghouls, Super Mutants, or even raiders. I let my excitement get the better of me. It changed when we entered the station. We found a man lying on the ground, his hand clutched to his side. "Please! You have to save my family! Please help them!" He cried at me. "Whoa.. easy there. Let me help you first." I insisted. The man was beside himself. "No! I'll.. I'll be fine. Just please. Save them." I shook my head and grabbed a Stimpak out of my bag. "Not until I help you first. I have more than enough Stimpaks to help you and your family." Piper appreciated that and gave me a smile. I gave the Stimpak to the man without letting him get a word against me. He looked up at me and, suddenly, his entire demeanor changed. He sprung up and furrowed his brows at me. "Fuck it! I can't do this anymore!" He sighed. "W-what?" I stepped back, surprised. He wasn't hurt at all. He was perfectly fine. Ugh! This had been the second time someone had done this to me in the last week. I was ready to shoot his brains out before he could justify himself, but I calmed myself and thought twice of it. Plus, Piper was right there and I couldn't do that to her. I demanded an explanation from the man. He told me his name was Harvey and proceeded to tell me his story. "It's a trap. I'm sorry. The raiders killed my real family years ago. But they've trapped me here. I've been baiting innocent people for years for them. Listen, if you were to go in that monorail, you'd be taken into their sick little game." He told me, shaking his head. "What little game?" I asked through gritted teeth. "They call it The Gauntlet. It's a horrible maze of traps, raiders, explosives, you name it. It's a death trap. Barely anyone makes it to the end. And no one makes it out alive. They make sure of that." He explained. "Fucking raiders." I muttered. I've always had a huge thing against raiders. No mercy. I felt anger boil up inside me. They wanted me to play their little game? Fine. "So, Harvey, how do I get to these raiders if the power is off?" I asked. He looked surprised. "What? You are still going?" He was quiet for a moment, then spoke. "I keep the power off to help sell my act, but you can easily turn it back on using that terminal over there." He grabbed my arm before I could take a step away. "Don't go. You won't make it out. That's a promise." He pleaded. I took a deep breath and bit my lip, looking over at Piper who had the same look Harvey did. I swallowed. "I have to. There's no telling how many innocent lives these sickos have taken just for the sake of some fucked up twisted sense of 'fun'! Even if you escape, they'd just get someone else to take your place. I'm stopping them. I have to." I said sternly, turning to reboot the power to the monorail. "Piper, you stay here with Harvey. No way in hell am I letting you get hurt by these sickos." I told her. "What? There is no way that I am I letting you go at this alone. I'm not going to stay here and wait.." She hesitated. "Wait for you to never come back to me. It's not happening. I'm going with you." She crossed her arms, raising her eyebrows. I didn't budge. "No, Piper." I said, continuing to type on the terminal. I pushed the last key and the power shot on, lights flickering as the monorail hummed to life. "Fine." She said. "Thank you." I replied. "I'll.. I'll be back. Ok? I promise." She muttered something under her breath. I ignored it and stepped onto the electric train. Big breath. Here we go. Immediately as I stepped on and the doors started to shut, Piper jumped on and squeezed through the opening. She stumbled onto the floor of the monorail and looked up at me, smirking. "Piper!" I growled. "Pfft. You really thought I was gonna let you go hoard all the fun for yourself? You must not know me." I helped her up from the floor and she tackled me in a hug. I rolled my eyes and returned the hug. "Besides. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't follow you to your death?" She asked, proud. "Oh. Yes. What kind of 'friend' indeed?" I said, smirking. She pushed back slightly, her face turning red as she stammered. "Um.. y-yea.. I -" The loudspeaker cut her off. A man's voice echoed across the empty monorail. It was gruff and factual. He told us his name was Gage. He also told us we were headed straight for our death. Piper and I looked at each other, slight worried looks on both our faces. I had no idea what I'd gotten myself into, I realized.

These raiders were even more fucked up than I thought. I'd gone through door after door. Trap after trap. I fought and fought. I fought everything they threw at me. Traps, turrets, bombs, radiation, ghouls, even raiders on a fence above me shooting me while I traverse to the next door defenseless. I reached the final door. Where I was allowed to stock up and rest for just a second. I collapsed, exhausted. I was so thirsty. I hadn't eaten in days. There was blood everywhere. I was riddled with bullet holes. My body shook from the radiation poisoning. I was so weak. Suddenly, someone came through the loudspeaker in the room. "Welcome to The Gauntlet. Now the REAL fun begins. You have 5 minutes to stock up on whatever is in here." I heard a door unlock and Piper rushed in, gasping at the sight of me. She'd been locked out when I first got trapped in the beginning room. Thank god they didn't let her in. I was just happy she was safe. "Blue, what did they do to you..?" She asked quietly, her hands levitating over me, as if she was scared to touch me, fearing I might break. "I'm f-fine." I coughed, shakily standing up. "Shut up." She told me, giving me a glare. She sat me down on the bench. I realized we were in a locker room of sorts. Everything was hazy. She pulled some Stimpaks out of her bag and administered them. She used her own Radaway to help me feel better from the radiation. Then she gave me some water. Supplies were scarce enough and she was wasting them all on me. My stomach turned. She made me lay down on the bench and after a few minutes I started to feel better. "Thank you.. but you shouldn't have done that. You need those supplies." I said to her. "Blue, are you serious? You were dying! You would have never made it." She yelled at me. I knew she was right. I should have never come here. I shouldn't have gotten her roped in. The loudspeaker activated again. "Two minutes." The man said, then clicked off again. I got up, scrambling to gather whatever ammo was there. I feeling much better and felt like I was ready to face whatever was coming up. "Wait. Ellie.." Piper said. I turned to her, surprised. She never calls me by my name unless there's serious trouble. "I know this is probably the worst time to tell you this.. just in case I never see you again .. I really appreciate you bringing me with you on all these adventures. And what you said to me about Nat the other day. I've needed someone like you in my life for a long time, Blue. I just.. never expected I'd actually get them. So thank you. For being the friend I can count on." She smiled. My heart stopped. I decided to go for it. Good as time as any, seeing I was about to die and all. With a slight chuckle, I replied to her. "Seems to me like you're interested in becoming more than just friends." I replied. She immediately turned red. "Oh! .. I - I - I mean I'd .. I'd be lying if I said I never thought of you that way .. I mean, n-not that I'm always thinking that way. It's just .. Blue, I'm loud and pushy .. and constantly getting in over my head." She stammered. "That's something we have in common then." I smiled. "Why would someone like you ever want someone like me..?" She said, frowning. I shook my head. "You don't need to be flawless, Piper. You're perfect to me." I told her, reaching a hand out and letting her hair glide through my fingers. "Goodness, Blue .. I - I don't know what to say" She stood there for a bit, gushing and stuttering still. ".. But heck of a time for us to confess our love to each other, ain't it? .. Don't go. Don't leave me." The loudspeaker rang through the room before I could reply to her. "You're on. Let's get this over with." Two men barged in and grabbed me, pulling me out of the room. Away from Piper. The door slammed shut, locking itself. No going back. I could hear Piper screaming and pleading as they took me away.


End file.
